News

Tour Rundown: And then there were 30

Published

2 years ago

Aug 21, 2023

Playoffs are cutthroat. Sahith Theegala made bogey on the 72nd hole this week, after posting birdies on holes 69, 70, and 71. That bogey dropped him from T10 to T15, and cost him a spot in the Tour Championship. One stroke, after all the practice and competition from last October to Sunday. Emiliano Grillo, Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth, and especially, Sepp Straka, did their best to drop out of the top 30, but somehow, they found a way to secure the 27th to 30th spots, and a berth in the big-money event in Atlanta.

The U.S. Amateur concluded in Colorado, and the simultaneous women/men events in Northern Ireland celebrated two distinct champions. The Korn Ferry and Tour Champions also served up trophies to event winners. Late August is a busy time for golf so, with a tip of the cap to Nick Dunlap, the new U.S. Amateur champion, let’s run down the pros and their results in this week’s Tour Rundown.

PGA Tour @ BMW Championship: Hovland storms back to claim playoff win

Not since Shigeki Maruyama, the smiling assassin, has a golfer grinned in both defeat and victory, as does Viktor Hovland. On Sunday, Hovland came home in 28 strokes, making birdie on all holes but the par threes on the inward half. His 61 jetted him past third-round, co-leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler, and everyone else in the field. After a season of disappointing, final rounds in the PGA Championship and other events, Hovland was able to bury those memories with one stellar scorecard.

Neither Fitzpatrick nor Scheffler played poorly on Sunday, but each had a pair of bogeys that they could ill afford to admit. With Hovland on a tear, it was keep up or settle, and no one could keep up. The tour now moves on to Atlanta, where Hovland will begin the week two shots behind front-runner Scheffler, in the pro-rated Tour Championship.

The moment that sealed the deal.

Viktor Hovland's closing hole @BMWChamps was nothing short of incredible. pic.twitter.com/Jz9cQMpPRZ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2023

LPGA/LET @ Handa World Invitational: Did anyone see Pano coming?

Imagine that you’re 18 years old, on the cusp of 19, and you’re playing in the Handa World Invitational. Imagine that you post a final-round 66 that includes nine birdies. Imagine that you tie for the top spot with two other golfers, go into a playoff, and ultimately make birdie on the third extra hole to win your first tour title. Welcome to the world of Alexa Pano. The young Floridian eschewed college golf for the professional ranks and this week’s result makes the decision appear justified. Pano began the week with 76, but improved each day, to 70, then 69, before Sunday’s stellar round. She began the day four shots behind England’s Gabriella Cowley, one of the playoff participants. Cowley closed birdie-eagle after a lackluster day, to find herself in overtime with Pano and Germany’s Esther Henseleit. Both Cowley and Pano made birdie at the first extra hole, then battled twice more before Pano ended things with a two-putt.

We have a new solo leader after this from @alexapanogolf on 17 ?#RaiseOurGame | #WorldInvitational pic.twitter.com/hEcfpVijIM

— Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) August 20, 2023

Korn Ferry Tour @ Magnit Championship: Chan can and did!

Chan Kim did quite a thing this week in New Jersey. Kim began the week in 54th position, 24 spots away from the PGA tour card awarded to the regular season top 30 on the Korn Ferry tour. On Sunday, he played a back-nine, four-hole stretch in five under par to separate from third-round leader Taylor Dickson and secure a Korn Ferry title. With the win, Kim moved up 42 spots, into the top 15. His future got a little brighter, thanks to his brilliant, closing 64 on Sunday. As for Dickson, fate could not have been much crueler. His runner-up finish was enough to elevate him to 31st on the regular-season money list, exactly one spot and 23 season points away from the same tour card. Dickson will have another opportunity to secure a tour card during the three-week playoff run, but he would certainly love to have less pressure as the tour heads to Idaho and the longest-running event in tour history, the Boise Open.

A birdie putt to remember?

Chan Kim fires a 64 to win @MagnitChamp pic.twitter.com/7n5q6jx1ZP

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) August 20, 2023

DP World Tour @ Handa World Invitational: Mr. Brown is back in town

Daniel Brown played so magnificently through the opening 54 holes, that he found himself in one of golf’s cursed positions: the six-shot advantage with one round to play. For those who remember the 1996 Masters, those sorts of leads are never safe, and in that event, Nick Faldo was the beneficiary of a historic collapse. Alex Fitzpatrick, in a second-spot tie with Wilco Nienaber with one round to play, cut Brown’s lead to two but could get no closer. The younger Fitzpatrick brother has been on a tear the last month and secured a runner-up spot this week in Northern Ireland. After a bit of a blaise start, Brown righted the ship and cruised to a five-shot win. Eddie Pepperell regained form this week and closed with 68 to secure a full podium for England. The tour moves onto the European mainland next week, for the Czech Open.

Back on track. @danbrown212 recovers from three consecutive bogeys with a birdie at the par three 14th to move three clear ?#WorldInvitational pic.twitter.com/jBX2fFDqoR

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) August 20, 2023

PGA Tour Champions @ Shaw Charity: Duke reigns by narrowest of margins

This week on PGA Tour Champions was one for the numerologists. Runners-up Thongchai Jaidee (66-69-62) and Tim Petrovic (62-66-69) posted identical rounds in differing sequences. Champion Ken Duke, one slim shot ahead, signed for 66-64-66. However, there’s always more to the story than statistics, so let’s dive deeper on Duke. PGA Tour Champions is the fourth tour on which Duke has won, and this victory was his first on the second-chances tour. The 54-year-old didn’t go super low, as did his closest pursuers, but he never left the mid-60s, and that made all the difference. On Sunday, Tim Petrovic failed to make birdie on the par-five closer. Jaidee and Duke made four at the last, and if it weren’t for the bogey at 14, Jaidee would have had 61 and a tie at the top. Duke had a pair of bogeys on the outward half, but more than made up for those stumbles with six birdies on the day. The victory moved him from 40th to 21s in the season-long Schwab Cup race, meaning that he might get to extend the season a bit more, come October, assuming his victory celebration didn’t cause any damage!

KEN DUKE BREAKS THROUGH??@DukePGA birdies 18 to win the @ShawClassic, his first career victory on PGA TOUR Champions. pic.twitter.com/iZwMEBh5Wu

— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) August 20, 2023

News

Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Ronald Montesano

I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

Card III and Bacha both miss their birdie tries on the first playoff hole.

We’ll play 18 again @OspreyOpen. pic.twitter.com/vNpHTdkHDg

— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) August 3, 2025

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 29, 2025

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

News

BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

Jul 28, 2025

Brian Knudson

Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)